First Fox Squirrel in Months.

[Ezana4CE]

Not a lot to it. Saw it up close at the last minute then it hit a tree and took off. About 10-15 minutes later I saw movement in some trees and managed to track the squirrel. When I got a half decent shot of it moving along a branch with a clear enough view I took my shot when it paused. Shot from around 25-30 yards offhand. Hit it in the body and watched it drop. Took about 10-15 minutes to find the carcass.

 

[TheNobleCannibal]

I shot my first one a couple months ago and it was huge

 

[TiredRooster]

Nice shooting. I haven't seen a Fox squirrel in quite a while, and haven't killed one in even longer. You have that EDgun looking like a hunting gun for sure.

 

[Hard2hurt223]

That's pretty darn good for offhand under pressure

 

[Ezana4CE]

Thanks @Hard2hurt223 Not a lot of pressure, at least not in my opinion. I wasn’t even hunting. I’d played with another project I’m working on and debated on going hunting. By the time I put my equipment away and went over my notes it had gotten too late to hit the woods so I posted at the treeline to see if I could catch some movement. So I decided to practice some woodsmanship by situating myself by some brush and just identifying different groups of animals by sound, mainly birds. This squirrel snuck up close when a group of song birds were scratching and feeding in the leaves. I mistook his feeding for a group of birds. There was a couple of young cedar trees between us. When I caught a glimpse of him he hit a tree and I knew which type of tree he hit by the way his claws sounded climbing. When I finally saw him again he’d moved to the other side of the trunk and ascended into canopy. I didn’t see it again until I saw movement in the canopy back in the woods a little ways. From there I was able to track him coming back toward me. Once he cleared the vines and things in front of me I took the best shot opportunity I saw. It was an ok shot (with a JSB King .25, 25.34 grain domed diabolo pellet), the only major organs that I hit were the intestines. It was dead by the time I found it. I had to work my way into the woods in some sneakers, jeans, and a hoodie as the sun set and a deer stand was visibly situated nearby. I was nervous because I didn’t have an orange vest with me, but I make it a point to recover my quarry. The pellet passed through the abdomen and it lost a lot of blood. I thought I may have hit the liver but nothing in the thoracic cavity was damaged by the shot and the kidneys looked fine in the abdominal cavity. Saw dark blood clots by the intestines.

@TiredRooster Thanks. This setup has been working nicely.

This guy didn’t even make it to the freezer.

He was a big boar. Y’all weren’t lying when you said fox squirrel meat is chewy. I didn’t have much time to cook much else but fries, peas and okra, and this fresh squirrel.

 

[L.Leon]

From the forest straight to the kitchen… @Ezana4CE… good story and conclusion.

 

[Bander124]

I have found for better flavor and tenderness that if I soak the meat in a salt brine for a night it tast like kfc chicken thigh in texture and flavor. Great hunting.

 

[kayaker]

Ezana4CE well done, not a easy task off hand and shooting up at a angle. BUT did you have too show that nice meal, now I'm HUNGRY.

 

[Ezana4CE]

Ezana4CE well done, not an easy task off hand and shooting up at an angle. BUT did you have to show that nice meal, now I'm HUNGRY.

@kayaker Lol. I had to eat something so this guy came right on time. Hard to beat fresh food. I actually started kneeling, then stood up while tracking and braced on a shaky post. I had to leave the post while tracking it and ultimately took my shot standing straight up after it jumped trees and paused in an area clear enough to take a shot. The branches and vines were a mess and there are still quite a bit of leaves on our trees. I wasn’t even sure it was the same squirrel, but since I rarely see fox squirrels I think it could be. It probably the 4th one I’ve killed within a year, first one I’ve eaten. The others are still in the freezer.

@Bander124 I may try it. I’ve done it with rabbit. I wanted to eat it that evening and I also wanted taste the actual flavor to see if it tastes different from gray squirrel meat so I decided not to brine this one.

 

[Hard2hurt223]

Man that squirrel looks tasty it's funny when I got my first squirrel I didn't know how to skin it so I got alot of fur in the meat but my mom cooked it up for me with some batter and fried it in oil it was so good it tasted just like kfc I ate all of it while pulling fur out of my mouth lol

 

[Ezana4CE]

@Hard2hurt223 They are tough to skin to me. Even tougher with cold or numb fingers. I’m actually polishing off some the squirrel in the photo as I post this. If a little fur (hair) is left on the meat I cook it if I’m the only one eating it. I don’t mind and it’s not worth the extra effort to try to pick out. I always find small hairs after skinning and rinsing, especially on the handful of fox squirrels I’ve bagged.